Chapter 26
NOAH
Red leaves before I get my ass up, wiping snow off my pants and backside, then my shoulders. I can take a wild guess as to where she’s heading, and I can stop her, but I’m too defeated to care anymore that she’s figured it out.
IF she’s figured it out.
Most likely, she has.
At least Coach will face her wrath.
Making my way down to my cabin, I take one last look behind me, the sun creeping higher, shining bright, casting shadows off naked branches along glistening snow banks.
It’s rare for a quiet moment to present itself in my chaotic life, so I breathe in, letting cold air fill my lungs, keeping it inside until I exhale, trying to dissipate some of my anxieties.
Tilting my head back, I watch the first signs of snow floating down, pecking my cheeks and nose. It picks up, showering me until it starts to coat my clothing; maybe it’ll bury me.
Because I’m a failure.
“No, you’re not.” Henry's voice pulls me back to reality.
I blink. “What?”
“You’re not a failure,” he reiterates, coming to my side. Snow covers some of his hat, his cheeks a rosy red.
“I didn’t realize I said that out loud.” I rub the back of my neck, my ears burning. Guess Henry now knows my depressing thoughts.
He bends down and scoops snow into his hands, molding it into a ball. “I didn’t take you for someone to give up so easily.” He chucks the snowball as far as it can go, then makes another.
I shrug, watching him make another perfect snowball. “Maybe I’m tired. Maybe I want to quit while I’m ahead.”
“Or maybe,” he throws it, almost landing where the first one does, “you’re giving up because you think you’ll never be good enough for anything or anyone.”
Anxiety prickles my neck; his words are a little too spot on for someone who’s just my personal assistant. “I didn’t know I hired a therapist.”
Henry smirks, making another snowball. “You didn’t, but I am someone who cares. We call them friends.”
Such a sarcastic son of a bitch. I love it. “Are you here to make sure I didn’t hightail out of here?”
“Something like that.” He throws one more snowball, a couple of inches further than the last two. “We have an interview soon. Coach is requesting you talk up the event.”
I hang my head, sighing. “He’s trying way too hard to sweep this under the rug.”
“He has faith you’ll bounce back. We all do.” Henry is hopeful, like all the rest, except Red, who’d rather be anywhere else than help me come out on the other side.
I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want my company either.
Yet, she’s constantly running laps in my head, like right now, when I need to focus on the here and now.